A HOST of sporting celebrities will gather tonight to celebrate the best of grassroots sport.

Among the names at the seventh annual Northern Echo Local Heroes Awards will be England manager Steve McClaren, who is supporting the event for the fourth year.

Also present will be Middlesbrough manager Gareth Southgate and Boro players Stewart Downing, Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Cattermole.

Darlington's new manager, Dave Penney, and Hartlepool boss Danny Wilson will also attend.

North-East athletics stars Steve Cram, Alison Curbishley and Jared Deacon will be there, as will Durham Cricket Club's bowler of the year, Mark Davies.

The celebrities will turn out to honour the most important stars of the evening - the ordinary people who have achieved extraordinary things in their respective sports.

More than a dozen awards will be handed out including awards for remarkable achievement, sporting excellence, unsung heroes, business and team performance.

One winner will be crowned the Local Hero of 2006.

The Editor of The Northern Echo, Peter Barron, who will compere the night, said: "This is the region's biggest celebration of grassroots sport and this year the quality is higher than ever.

"It promises to be another memorable evening."

On Friday, December 8, The Northern Echo will produce a souvenir supplement, including stories and pictures from the evening.

We will also put an online picture gallery on the www.thenorthernecho.co.uk website as the evening unfolds. A video of the evening will also be available on the website at the weekend.

The evening, at Hardwick Hall Hotel, near Sedgefield, will include dinner and a charity auction.

The Northern Echo has been running an auction in memory of Stewart Downing's sister, Vicki, who died from cancer aged four.

Four items, including the shirt Downing wore when he played for England against Trinidad and Tobago this summer, have already been auctioned -raising £3,000 for the Vicki Downing Memorial Fund.

Tonight there are two more items up for grabs -a pair of Downing's signed World Cup boots, worn against Paraguay, and a pair of signed Paul Gascoigne boots. Former Premiership referee Jeff Winter will auction the items.

Almost 1,000 people will attend the awards, which are sponsored by npower in partnership with One NorthEast, Barclays, Orange, Darlington Building Society, Magnet Trade and Sport England.